Pauline Trigre was born in Paris, but migrated to the United States in the 1930s and became a citizen of the U.S. in the 1940s. Trigre found herself without a husband or or job during the 1940s. She had wish to work in fashion, and and went on to work for several design houses in New York, and finally opened her own shop in 1942. As a daughter of a tailor, she was able to put to use the skills she had learned from her father and those that she acquired while working. Trigre designed and made 11 different dresses, which her brother showed to some of the boutiques in the country. Her extravagant and sophisticated designs made her collection extremely coveted.